Black Meetings and Tourism

Black Meetings & Tourism June/July 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 21 CROWNE PLAZA OPENS OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA $4 Million Conversion Hotel Marks Crowne Plaza's Fifth Opening In Philadelphia Market IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by num- ber of rooms, recently announced that the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia-Bucks County has opened, following $4 million in renovations to guestrooms and public spaces. The Crowne Plaza is conveniently located just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Interstate 95 and state Route 1. Guests will be just minutes from local businesses, including General Electric, Verizon, International SOS and Catalent Pharma Solutions. Nearby leisure attractions include historic Philadelphia, New Hope, Peddler's Village, Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack, and Sesame Place theme park. The six-story Crowne Plaza Philadelphia-Bucks County offers 214 guest rooms. Guests have access to a variety of amenities including compli- mentary wireless high speed Internet access, fitness center, 24-hour business center, indoor swimming pool and complimentary shuttle to businesses within a five-mile radius. The hotel's restaurant, Brady's, serves relaxed American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including a sports bar with more 30 beers on tap. Also consistent with the Crowne Plaza brand, the hotel offers a com- prehensive meetings program to ensure a seamless planning process and exceptional meeting experience consisting of three key components: a Two Hour Response Guarantee, Crowne Meetings Director and a Daily Meetings Debrief. The hotel has nine meeting rooms with 5,500 square feet of flexible, upscale meeting space. MEETING PLANNERS TAKE NOTE: HERE COMES OMNI! Beginning in May, all Omni Hotels unveiled two new meetings initiatives. Designed to meet the ever-chang- ing demands in the meetings marketplace, the programs are being implemented to relieve some of the strain and uncertainty planners are facing today. On top of Omni's already innovative ZERO Attrition program announced earlier this year, the brand is now launching a system wide RapidResponse program which guaran- tees a swift reaction to all incoming inquiries as well as a standard policy to always include a ReSELL Clause in its meeting contracts. To ensure all in-bound leads are answered within two business hours, Omni Hotels has instituted its RapidResponse program brand-wide. This effort will apply to all leads: phone, e-mail, electronic inquiries and through third-party organizations. After the initial contact, Omni will then follow-up with a formal response – such as a proposal or contract – no later than the end of the next business day. If Omni does not provide an ini- tial response within two business hours, the inquiring customer will be entitled to request a five percent dis- count off the master account. The new ReSELL Clause offers a standard rooms resell clause in each group contract without any special request from the meeting planner. With this clause, groups are entitled to a refund for any paid cancellation or attrition charges if Omni resells some portion of the unused guest rooms. For every room resold, the brand will provide the meeting planner a credit for the rate at which the room was resold. "It is imperative that we stay 'tuned in' to what our customers need and let them know we have their best interest in mind," said Tom Faust, VP of sales for Omni Hotels. "Omni has always taken great pride in its inno- vative meeting solutions and is continually seeking ways to enhance the way we do business."

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